Means for supporting comb foundations in honey frames



June, 1944. w. A. HlN SON 2,350,963

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING COMB-FOUNDATIONS IN HONEY FRAMES Filed July 19, 1943 Patented June 6, 1944 UNIT'ED STATES PAT N ama;

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING-COMB FOUNDA TIONS INHONEY'FRAMES Wiley A. Hinson, Jacksonville, Fla. Application July 19, 1943, Serial No. 495,328

2 Claims.

I My invention relates to means for supporting the comb-foundations in the frames of the supers which form bee hives.

Myobject is to form a frame and foundation so constructed and arranged relatively to each other that both frame and foundation will normally be held in the super in the same vertical plane; and so that if the foundation is accidentally moved out of said vertical relation to the frame, it will automatically tend to return there- 7 Another object is to effect the arrangement just referred to, by means that will b simple and inexpensive in construction, and easily and economically operated.

A leading feature of the invention resides in the upper bar of a frame, said frame having a vertical slot with the foundation passing loosely downward therethrough and depending therefrom, the upper edge of the foundation being provided with means for rendering it thicker than the width of the slot, whereby saidthickened upper edge constitutes a stop for limiting the downward movement of the foundation in said slot; said upper bar being also provided at the upper side of said slot with a dado of suificient width and depth to fully receive thereinto the thickened edge of the foundation, below the level of the top of the bar The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawin in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a super carrying a number of honey frames, one of which is lifted out of its normal position in the super, in order to disclose its general construction.

Fig. 2 is a broken perspective of one form of comb foundation which I employ.

Fig. 3 is a broken perspective, on an enlarged scale, of one end of the top bar of a honey frame and its adjoining post.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale, of the upper bar of the frame; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale of a foundation provided with a modified form of top edge.

The numeral I indicates a super, any suitable number of which may be used to build up a hive, one being placed immediately above another. The numeral 2 indicates the frame which are carried by the super, while 3 indicates the foundations carried by the respective frames in the supers.

' The frames are all similar to each other, each comprising a top bar 211, abottom bar 2b, and end posts 20, whereby when the frames are placed in operative position in the super, the projecting ends of the top'bar 2a rest uponsuitable supportingledges Ic'located near the top of the super on opposite sides thereof.

The top bar'Za of theframehas a longitudinal slot 2d for the reception of the artificial foundation 3, which has at its upper edge means which provides a stop for the downward movement of the foundation 3 in said slot.

--In Fig. 2 of the drawing I have shown the foundation 3 provided near its top edge with a jute'cord, whichin the manufacture of the foundation is rigidly connected therewith, and this cord is of such thickness that the upper edge of the foundation cannot pass on downwardly through the'slot 2d of the top bar. a In the manufacture of this form of the foundation, the cord 3a is preferably thoroughly saturated with the wax with which the foundation is usually formed, so that from a practical point of view, it'forms an integral part of the foundation. 1 r

Fig. 4 of the drawing shows this cord in its operative relation to the foundation 3 and the slot 2d of the frame. 1

In Fig. 5 of the drawing I have shown a slightly modified form of means at the upper edge of the foundation for cooperation with the slot 201, to hold the foundation suspended therefrom. In this modified form the upper edge of the foundation 3a: is bent upon itself as indicated at 3b, till said upper edge is too thick to pass downwardly through the slot 2d. Attention is also called to the fact that the upper bar 241 of the frame is dadoed at the upper side of the slot 2d, as indicated at 2e in the drawing. The object of this dado 2c is to form a recess in the bar 211 deep enough to completely receive the upper thickened edge of the foundation below the plane of the top of the bar 2a of the frame, whereby the upper edge of the foundation will not be touched by the bottom of another super in cases where one super is placed on top of another as the hive is built up to any desired height.

The old processes of rolling foundation on the frame. or of dropping hot wax into the slot in the frame to keep the foundation from dropping out, are slow and tedious processes as compared with the method I have here disclosed: and for other reasons well known to bee keepers, they are often quite unsatisfactory; as, for instance, the supers, upon receiving rough treatment or Careless handling when placed on the hive, may be left at an angle, which in turn, will leave all theframes in that super inclined at the same angle. This leaves the foundations free to be bent by gravity; and if they are put to use immediately will cause the bees to build the comb in exactly the same position in which the foundations are hanging. Also, from rough treatment, such as frequently happens in shipping by freight, or in hauling from one apiary toanother, the wax that was poured to set the foundation, may jar or work loose (which is a very com:

mon occurrence), and will, in that condition, be put on a hive unnoticed by thebee-keepen. The; bees will, of course, build the comb on the foun dations in exactly the position in which the. fQlln.-,

dations are hanging, thus resulting in crooked combs which it will be impossible to, lift-from the supers without breaking the comb, andthere by occasioning loss of honey as well as the production of a. less; salable pro uct. s nce inr'the pr uet en 0ffirst iass-f ernb henem, both; the; uper and the-foundation;- mustbe ke t; in; the prop relative position to eachcthen If the foundation is in the: right. posi ion. and the super s in' th ro ranesition, the. product, w ll? be dis-- u t d y; andif: the foundationis in the wrong pesitien, and th /sup n the right position, the result. will be equally faul y;

hy arrangement, when thr u h much. or. care esshandline, the s peri lef tc mproper: angle o the v and iS'ilhQD; later deleted to; s prop r vertical position thereQm hc foundationis free. toar ll: in the. dadoed slot: and swin intda vertical: position; and; thereby automatically right itself rclativelynto the. correct. po-

sition now assumed by the: super.

Thus, i will; be: seen that-with arrange-:

means of insuring the production of honey for the market, inv the..most appealing form.

What I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent is;-

1. In a device of the character described, the

" combination with the upper bar of a super frame,

Said bar having a narrow longitudinal slot therein, of an artificial foundation for honeycomb, said foundation being: of a thickness to be easily received intd said slot to pass downwardly therein, and having near its upper'ed e and SuhSt-ZHIF tialiy parallel therewith, a flexible cord rigidly secured thereto, said cord being of a diameter; too great to. permit its passage through said slot, whereby the foundation, depends from the upper bar of theframe. in a substantially verti calf position. i

-2-. In a device of the. character described, the combination with the upper bar of a super frame, said bar having a narrow longitudinal slot therein, of an artificial foundation for honeycomb, said foundation being of athickne'ss: to be easily received into said slot, to; passdownwardly therein, and having near its upper edge andisubstantially parallel therewith, a flexible cord rigidly secured there to,5said cord being of a diameter too great to permit the passage of the upper part of the'foundat-ion through slot, said bar being recessed on its upper side along said slot sufficiently for the recess to receive thereinto theupper edge of the foundation including said rigidly attached flexible cord.-

I WILEY A. HINSON. 

